Equinox (Book One of the Firebird Chronicles) WATTY AWARD HIDDEN GEM WINNER 2015

Chapter Thirty Five: Ruby Red

Blood on the hearthstones. Blood like rich wine, oozing from Clae's mouth. Blood of thick scarlet and brazen ruby. Blood dripping from her fingertips as she fell forward, fluttering briefly towards the gaping wound across her throat. Pulsing waves of thick, red liquid continued to flow in slow motion as I gazed upon her, as if from a dream.

This can't be real.

In the distance, fuzzy voices were yelling and fighting. I frowned, wondering whether to figure out where the noise was coming from, or whether to go to Clae. But there was so much blood, and so little of Clae awake, what could I do? Wouldn't I wake up soon anyway?

Please be soon. I can't stand staring at her lifeless form.

I must have run to her, because the memory of her twitching fingers in my own seemed to real to have made up. The girl was so, so cold-- and yet, her expression was serene, her eyes gleaming electric blue in one last request.

No, I tried to plead. But it was an order.

Something was pulling me away from her, and the world shook around me. Perhaps I was waking up now? But, even so, I couldn't leave Clae-- even in a dream, she was still my friend.

I tried to shout her name, to see whether it would wake her up. My mouth didn't seem to connect with my brain, making everything seem dulled and monochrome. When the pulling on my arm persisted, I tried to look at what was pulling me, but it felt like I was watching my head, unable to move, from far away. All that mattered was Clae, and her dark chocolate hair fanning her head in sticky, red clumps, and her face, which had drained of colour.

Spinning, someone grabbed my jaw and forced me to look at them. Red washed in front of my eyes, and I snapped backwards, remembering the spilt blood. But my vision was only tricking me; the red I saw was hair, wiry and unwieldy, and the hair belonged to my ally, Kaelan. His eyebrows were tossed together in the centre in concern, his big blue eyes flickering over my face. His face was long, thin, and definitely elven. His mouth opened and closed, and opened and closed, but I couldn't hear him at all.

Radio static was buzzing in my ears and I was on a different wavelength.

Until something shocked me.

I felt it along my wrists, running up my arms, until it crawled along my spine and seared white, hot, unfurling, burning pain there at the base of my neck. My mouth wrenched open, but my scream was beyond my own ears. Kaelan was gone, and all around were black spots dancing.

But in that moment, the sound came back on. Like my ears had popped, I heard all the voices around me shouting my name, and the maniacal laughter that I didn't recognise. I stared only at the bloodied floor, trying to move after the pain of the shock, when a second hit me. My back arched in agony, the scream tearing through my throat echoing in my ears. I landed on my back as the attack faded, looking straight up into the eyes of the man earlier.

His hair hung low over his eyes, hiding everything but his wicked, slanted grin. 'I'm disappointed in you, Princess. Who would have thought that you were so weak against blood?'

Another crack winded me; the Commander's steel capped boot had collided with my ribs, sending pain scattering through the aftermath.

'We'll just have you get you used to seeing blood, Princess,' the Commander laughed, kneeling to taunt me as I lay on the floor.

Move, a part of my functioning brain insisted. Move, get away. Where is everyone? Find them!

Groaning, I glanced upwards, catching sight of Kaelan slumped against the wall, and Sakura fending away another guard. She was as immovable as ever, but could just keep up with the tank-like man she was pitted against, let alone come to my aid. Valkyrie was still crouched by Clae, her fingers trembling.